Photo Credit: Saint Street Photography
Julian Elijah Martinez is an actor working and dreaming in Brooklyn, New York.
I started acting in high school. At the time I was not a strong student. I was the guy with his head on his desk in the back of the class, reading some massive sci-fi novel. Teachers generally left me alone, but didn’t encourage me either. I was ignored, floundering academically, and desperately seeking a sense of belonging. That was until I saw a notice to audition for a production of Inherit the Wind, directed by the drama teacher Sally Livingston. I have no idea what possessed me to audition. I wasn’t particularly creative, couldn’t sing to save my life, and was really only interested in my Playstation. But there I was standing in a black box theater stumbling through some monologue in front of the drama department. Terrifying. I was so traumatize by the experience that I didn't check the cast list when it was posted a week later. I went back to my routine: head on desk, sci-fi novel on lap, homework left undone.
The day before tech was scheduled to start, the principal called me into her office. See I had a habit of being suspended for a variety of different reasons and as I sat in the waiting room I racked my brain over the possible crimes that I could have committed. Turns out that for about a month Mrs. Livingston had been looking for a Julian Martinez, because he was cast in the play and hadn’t shown up to a single rehearsal. This was pretty on brand for me, as I rarely if at all followed through on what I committed to do. And so close to tears I slumped down to the theater room to apologized to Mrs. Livingston and bow out (pun intended) gracefully. Much to my chagrin, Mrs. Livingston refused to let me blow the play off. I was pretty much a bubbling mess at this point thinking I would get suspend yet again. However, she escorted me into the theater where they were rehearsing and sat me down next to another kid and told me he would show me what to do. Now remember: I had never been in a play before, missed literally every rehearsal, and hadn’t read the script. I’m not sure what it was: the costume that transported me into a different world, the set that smelled of pinewood, or the fact I could pretend I was someone else for a few hours but fast-forward two weeks later, and I was taking my first bow in front of a school. I felt like I was standing on the moon. I felt seen.
Little did I know how profoundly Mrs. Livingston’s decision to hold me to my commitments would change my life. Mrs. Livingston became my mentor and advocate. She introduce me to craft of theater. She showed me that my imagination was actually my gift. With her guidance I would go on to study acting and theater design at Elon University. After graduating I spent about three years acting and teaching around the country. Later I would be accepted into the Yale School of Drama. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would go to an Ivy league school; yet there I was, studying under master teachers such as Ron Van Lieu and Evan Yionulius, all because of Mrs. Livingston refusal to ignore me.
Sally Ann Livingston would pass in 2016 leaving behind a legacy that has touched hundreds of students like me. Honestly, I don’t know where I would be without her kindness. Because of that I dedicate much of my success to her.
"The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people, make them understand life, the world and themselves. Otherwise I don't know why you do it."
- Amiri Baraka
CREDITS
Broadway credits include Network. Off-Broadway credits include Sanctuary City (New York Theater Workshop); Anatomy of A Suicide (Atlantic Theater Company); Mud (Boundless Theater Company); and Alligator (New Georges). Select Regional Credits include King Lear (Shakespeare Theater Company DC); Father Comes Home From The Wars Part 1, 2, 3 (co-production with Yale Rep and A.C.T); The Square Root of Three Sisters (Dmitry Krymov Lab); 9 Circles (Forum Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination); and The Hampton Years (Theater J). Television credits include Wu-tang: An American Saga; Law & Order: SVU; That Damn Michael Che Show; Prodigal Son; and Elementary. I recieved an MFA from the David Geffen School of Drama, and a BFA from Elon University. I am also on the board of the Developing Artist Theater Company, a founding member of the Encompass Collective, and a company member of the Actor’s Center.